Conventionally, a scanning laser microscope has been well known as an apparatus for illuminating a specimen (sample) with a light beam from a light source for two-dimensional scanning, detecting a light from the specimen using a photodetector, converting the detected light into an electric signal by a photoelectric transducer, and obtaining image data.
Briefly described below are the configuration and the operation of a prior art scanning laser microscope.
A specimen is illuminated with a light beam from a light source for two-dimensional scanning. Light from the specimen (e.g., a reflected light, a transmission light, fluorescence, etc. depending on the material and the shape of the specimen) is detected by a photodetector and the detected light is converted into an electric signal by a photoelectric transducer. The converted electric signal is converted into digital image data by an A/D converter and stored in a conventional memory. An image based on the stored image data is generated and displayed on a display unit of a computer.